Method of making a coil spring and apparatus therefor

ABSTRACT

Disclosed herein is an improved method and apparatus for making a coil spring wherein a wire material is fed on a line of feed which is maintained at a constant position relative to a mandrel adapted for winding the wire material. The mandrel is controlled to pivot into a predetermined angular winding position relative to the line of feed and to move in the axial direction thereof so as to form the wire material into a spring.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to a method of making a coil spring andan apparatus therefor. More particularly, this invention provides amethod and apparatus for winding a selected length and diameter of awire material into a spiral configuration by using a mandrel so as toautomatically make a coil spring, particularly a large compressionspring having seats at its opposite ends.

2. Description of the Prior Art

In making coil springs, two types of wire material, cold and hot, areusually employed dependent on the size of coil springs to be formed.First, cold wires are used to permit cold working on small springsformed of relatively thin or small-diameter wires. Second, hot wirespreviously heated to a predetermined high temperature are used to permithot working on large coil springs formed of relatively thick orlarge-diameter wires. In either form of manufacturing process, it isnecessary to accurately set and maintain the feeding position andposture of a wire material relative to the mandrel so that the windingrequirements are satisfactorily fulfilled. Especially, in manufacture ofsprings having seats or wedge-shaped rolled portions previously formedon their opposite ends, it is essential that the orientation andposition of such rolled portions be held accurately to suit the windingrequirements.

The previously known art of manufacturing springs will now be describedbriefly. In general, the "shiftable wire-based winding process" hashitherto been employed. FIG. 45 is a schematic illustration of such aprocess, and as may be seen, a mandrel M' on a winding machine, beingset at a fixed position and orientation, is rotated at a constant speedin a desired direction, while a wire on a feeding machine is fed towardthe mandrel M' and moved in the axial direction of the mandrel, thusshifting its direction of advancement (the angle of feed) progressivelyto suit a selected pitch of the spring to be wound by the mandrel M'.

However, such a process includes a number of potential problems.Normally, the wire on the feeding machine has to be gradually shifted inthe axial direction of the mandrel, requiring a relatively complex andlarge machine and hence a considerably large area for its installation.This runs counter to the general tendency toward the simplification ofsuch manufacturing lines. In addition, since the direction of wireadvancement is shifted by the movement of the feeding machine (in otherwords, the direction of wire advancement is selected dependent on themovement of the feeding machine), the prior art process fails toaccurately set the posture and angle of wire advancement relative to themandrel, and deformation, such as bend and deflection, of the wire canresult. Therefore, the process still has a number of problems to beovercome in winding the wire properly as desired and manufacturing highquality springs having accurate and stable shape (particularly in termsof pitch) continuously at high speeds.

Further, the prior art method of manufacturing springs, where wires areshifted during their advancement, entails considerable danger such asduring a hot forming process. Namely, when wires with rolled portionsare processed, a plurality of operators are required to check andcorrect the orientation of the rolled portions at an appropriate stagein the latter half of the winding process. At that time, no matter howskillful they are in such a correcting operation, they are liable todanger such as a burn, as the operation is carried out during theshifting movement of hot material. In addition, the importantconsiderations are the safety and prudence in performing such anoperation; and reliable cooperation between the machine operators.Apparently, all of these factors have contributed to failure to speed upthe overall manufacturing operation and to improve the productivity.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

It is, accordingly, an object of the present invention to overcome theabove-described problems associated with the prior art.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a method andapparatus by which safety and efficiency in operation may be increased.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide suchapparatus which is compact in construction and yet which has improvedcapability.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a methodand apparatus which can make high quality springs having stable andaccurate configuration by winding wire materials with a high degree ofaccuracy while holding the materials at their stable posture.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide suchapparatus which can efficiently make either wind of springs, right-handor left-hand, by varying the line of the material feed, the direction ofrotation of mandrel and the chucking position to suit the type of windof springs to be made.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a method ofmaking a coil spring wherein a wire material is fed on a line of feedand formed into a spring by use of a mandrel adapted to rotate on thebasis of chucking position to wind the wire material, the mandrel beingcontrolled to pivot into a predetermined angular winding positionrelative to the line of feed and to move in the axial direction thereof.The invention method comprises the steps of feeding the wire material ata selected speed and continually in alignment with the line of feed,regulating the orientation and position of the head end of the wirematerial in the forward part of the line of feed, directing the wirematerial regulated on its head end to a chucking position established onthe outer periphery of the mandrel and aligned with the line of feed,controlling the winding position of the mandrel to pivot about a fulcrumaligned with the chucking postion and to shift between a referenceposition perpendicular to the plane of the line of feed and a pivotedposition forming an acute angle relative to the reference position,moving the mandrel toward and away from the predetermined windingposition while removably holding the mandrel, and regulating the tailend of the wire material at a predetermined time during the windingprocess so as to control the orientation of the tail end to an anglecommensurate with the angle of twist of the wire material which willnecessarily be developed before the remaining unwound length of the wirematerial is wound. In this way, the wire material may be fed as it isheld in a fixed position and at a stable posture at all times, and maybe serially wound at a desired angle by the mandrel. Thus, springshaving an accurate shape, size, pitch and pitch angle, and especiallycoil springs having opposite seats may be efficiently formed.

The present invention provides the "pivotal and movable mandrel-basedwinding process" which is basically different from the "shiftablewire-based winding process" as described in the preceding paragraphs.Therefore, the overall manufacturing line may be simplified and yet themanufacturing equipment used in conjunction with the present method maybe made compact. In addition, human operations may be minimized in theoverall manufacturing process; the required operation includes simplytaking out a wire material from the heating furnace and making apreliminary adjustment of the posture of the wire material. Thus, thenumber of operators may be minimized and the apparatus safely operatedwithout requiring men of skill. Further, a high-speed operation may beattained by reducing delays which might be caused by human operations.

Also, in accordance with the present invention, there is provided anapparatus for performing the method which includes a feed sectionadapted to hold and feed a wire material in alignment with the line offeed; and a cooperating wind section disposed transversely to the planeof the feed section and including a mandrel mounted thereon for windingthe wire material, the mandrel being adapted for pivotal movement into apredetermined angular winding position relative to the line of feed andfor rotational movement about and reciprocating movement along the axisthereof. The invention apparatus comprises feeder means mounted on aframe of the feed section and adapted to feed the wire material at aselected speed and continually in alignment with the line of feed, headend regulator means disposed in the forward part of the line of feed forregulating the orientation and position of the head end of the wirematerial, feed-out means for directing the wire material regulated onits head end to a chucking position established on the outer peripheryof the mandrel and aligned with the line of feed, swivel means forcontrolling a swivel base of the wind section to pivot about a fulcrumaligned with the chucking position and to shift between a referenceposition perpendicular to the plane of the line of feed and a pivotedposition forming an acute angle relative to the reference position,drive means for controlling the mandrel to rotate about the chuckingposition, movable holder means for moving the mandrel toward and awayfrom the predetermined winding position while removably holding themandrel, and tail end regulator means mounted on the feed section andhaving a regulating tool adapted to regulate the tail end of the wirematerial at a predetermined time during the winding process so as tocontrol the orientation of the tail end to an angle commensurate withthe angle of twist of the wire material which will necessarily bedeveloped before the remaining unwound length of the wire material iswound. With this arrangement, high quality coil springs may beaccurately manufactured, and even in a hot forming process, springs maybe manufactured safely and efficiently at high speeds by reducing asmuch human operations as possible.

The invention apparatus employs the "pivotal and movable mandrel-basedwinding process" which eliminates the need for shifting the feed of wirematerial, and thus the overall apparatus may be simplified and the wholeline made compact, thereby making it possible to produce springsaccurately while eliminating variations in wire material.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the apparatus furtherincludes an elevating pedestal mounted on the frame of the feed sectionand adapted to shift between predetermined high and low positions. Bymeans of this arrangement, the feeder means, head end regulator means,feed-out means and tail end regulator means, being mounted on theelevating pedestal, may be set to the respective lines of feed forright-hand wind or left-hand wind. Additionally, in the wind section,the mandrel may be controlled to rotate in either direction and thechucking position shifted into a position aligned with the respectiveline of feed. With this arrangement, various type of springs, for eitherright-hand wind or left-hand wind, may be formed accurately andefficiently, thereby increasing the versatility of the apparatus.

Further, by means of the cooperating action of a head end bender meansmounted on the elevating pedestal and a tail end hold-down means locatedin an operative position opposite to the mandrel, both the head end andthe tail end of the wire material, being bent in the direction of wind,may closely contact the outer periphery of the mandrel. Because of this,springs having accurate and stable end configuration may be formed.Also, the guide means aligned with the respective line of feed foreither right-hand wind or left-hand wind, include rollers placed insuitable guide positions spaced a predetermined distance away from themandrel. The rollers serve to press and guide the wire material onto theouter periphery of the mandrel so that floating, bend and deformation ofthe wire material may advantageously be eliminated to provide springshaving accurate diameter and pitch.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now be described by way of example and with referenceto the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGS. 1(a)-1(e) are schematic plan views of the overall apparatus forperforming the invention method, showing the apparatus operation and thevarious components used in conjunction therewith;

FIGS. 2, 3, and 4 are front, top, and sectional side views,respectively, of the wire feed section of the invention apparatus;

FIG. 5 is a front view of a part of the frame of the feed section;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the first and the second feeder means of theinvention apparatus;

FIG. 7 is a sectional side view of the overall feed section;

FIGS. 8 and 9 are front and side views, respectively, of theposture-retaining means;

FIGS. 10 and 11 are front and top views, respectively, of the head endregurator means;

FIGS. 12 and 13 are sectional side and plan views, respectively, of thehead end bender means;

FIGS. 14 and 15 are front and sectional side views, respectively, of theguide means;

FIG. 16 is a front view of the clamp and feed-out means;

FIGS. 17 and 18 are sectional front and sectional side views,respectively, of the tail-end regulator means;

FIG. 19 is a sectional front view of the sensor means used in the tailend regulator means;

FIG. 20 is a front view of the coil wind section;

FIG. 21 is a plan view of the swivel base;

FIG. 22 is a sectional side view of the fulcrum shaft of the swivel baseof FIG. 21;

FIG. 23 is a sectional side view of the swivel means;

FIG. 24 is a sectional view of the drive of the swivel means of FIG. 23;

FIGS. 25 and 26 are sectional front and sectional side views,respectively, of the drive means of the mandrel;

FIG. 27 is a sectional view of the control of the clutch shiftingmechanism of the drive means;

FIGS. 28 and 29 are sectional front and plan views, respectively, of thefirst movable holder means of the mandrel;

FIG. 30 is a front view of the connection of the mandrel;

FIGS. 31 and 32 are sectional front and side views, respectively, of thesecond movable holder means of the mandrel;

FIG. 33 is a side view of the chuck;

FIGS. 34 and 35 are front and sectional side views, respectively, of thewind guide means and the tail end hold-down means;

FIG. 36, is a sectional view of the support of the wind guide means;

FIG. 37 is a plan view of the tail end hold-down means;

FIGS. 38 and 39 are front and sectional side views, respectively, of themandrel guide means;

FIG. 40 is a front view of a wire material;

FIG. 41 is a front view of a coil spring;

FIG. 42 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of control ofmandrel;

FIG. 43 is a schematic diagram illustrating the regulation of twist ofwire material;

FIGS. 44(a)-44(c) are schematic representations illustrating varioussprings and mandrels; and

FIG. 45 is a schematic plan view of the prior art method.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The inventive method and apparatus for making a coil spring will bedescribed in detail with reference to the drawings. The preferredembodiment is chosen and described to explain the hot forming processwherein a wire material W with tapered ends (rolled portions at theopposite ends) shown in FIG. 40 is formed into a coil spring S shown inFIG. 41.

Prior to the description of the invention method, the apparatus forperforming the method will be described. Broadly the apparatus includes,as represented in FIG. 1, two interrelated cooperating operativesections by which a wire material W taken from a heating furnace H isformed into a coil spring S. The operative sections of the apparatus inFIG. 1 are: feed section F for holding the wire W in alignment with aselected line of feed dependent on the type of wind, right-hand orleft-hand; and wind section C disposed transversely to the plane of feedsection F to form a generally T-shaped configuration and adapted tocontrol a mandrel M mounted thereon for its pivotal displacement of windposition, for rotational movement in either direction and for axiallyreciprocating movement, in accordance with the selected line of feed. Inthe following specification, therefore, the principal components of theapparatus will be described in relation to these two sections,respectively. Also, to facilitate the description of severaltransmission means in the apparatus, sprockets and chains will be simplyreferred to as a chain train, and gears as a gear train.

The feed section F is supported on a suitable frame 1 and includesseveral principal subassemblies for feeding a wire material, which arearranged in alignment with the line of feed, as schematically shown inFIGS. 2, 3 and 4. The principal subassemblies of the feed section F arefirst feeder means 18, second feeder means 25, posture retaining means40, head end regulator means 56, head end bender means 66, feed guidemeans 81, clamp and feed-out means 91 and tail end regulator means 104.The frame 1 has a fixed base 2 secured thereto and a sliding base 3slidably supported on the fixed base 2 for longitudinal movementrelative to the fixed base 2. To set the respective subassemblies at aproper position and height commensurate with the length of wire and thedirection of wind (right-hand or left-hand), an elevating pedestal 10 isprovided and is secured to the sliding base 3, as shown in FIGS. 2, 5and 7. The sliding base 3 is driven by a reversible motor 4 mounted onone end of the fixed base 2 and is connected to the motor 4 through achain train 5. The drive of motor 4 enables the sliding base 3 to shiftbetween two positions, forward and rearward, in the direction of wireadvancement, through a rotary shaft 6 and a rack and pinion train 7carried by the fixed base 2. Reference numberals 8 and 8' designateposition sensors which are disposed on one side of the fixed base 2 andactuable to stop the motor 4 upon contact with a dog 9 on the slidingbase 3.

The elevating pedestal 10 is located on the sliding base 3 and parallelto the line of feed, the rearward portion (adjacent the heating furnaceH) being supported by a fulcrum shaft 12 in a subframe 11 secured to thesliding base 3. The elevating pedestal 10 is slantingly elevated bymeans of a shift cylinder 13 with a rod 14 which is secured to theforward end of the elevating pedestal 10 and which is adjustable for itsamount of travel relative to the rod 14 connected at its lower end tothe sliding base 3. Thus, the elevating pedestal 10 is shiftable betweentwo height levels which are aligned with the respective lines of feedfor right- and left-hand winds. Reference numerals 15 and 15' are heightsensors which are mounted to on the elevating pedestal 10 and actuableto stop the cylinder 13 upon contact with dogs 17 and 17' secured to asupport bar 16 on the sliding base 3.

The first feeder means 18 serves to feed the wire material taken fromthe heating furnace H at a selected speed. As shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 6,the first feeder means 18 includes a plurality of support sleeves 19(three sleeves shown in the drawings) carried in the rearward end of theelevating pedestal 10. Each of the support sleeves 19 includes a rotaryshaft 20 extending therethrough in a direction perpendicular to the lineof feed. The rotary shafts 20 are connected to a motor mounted to thebackside of the elevating pedestal 10 through a first and a second chaintrain 22 and 23, and are rotatable synchronously with each other. Eachrotary shaft 20 has on its front end a roller 24 which is aligned withthe line of feed. The motor 21 may preferably of a variable speed motor.Additionally, as best seen in FIG. 6, each of the rollers 24 is providedwith a concave recess and opposite flanges to assist in guiding the wireof a selected diameter.

The second feeder means 25 serves to feed and guide the wire material W,in association with the first feeder means 18, toward the mandrel M onthe wind section C. As shown in FIGS. 5, 6 and 7, the second feedermeans 25 includes a support base 26 located generally above the forwardend of the elevating pedestal 10, which support base 26 includes aplurality of rotary shafts 27 axially movably carried therein andextending therethrough in a direction perpendicular to the line of feed.The rotary shafts 27 are operatively connected to the motor 21 through achain train 28 and are rotatable synchronously with each other. It is tobe noted that another individual motor may be provided separately fromthe first feeder means 18. Each of the rotary shafts 27 has a roller 29fixedly connected at the front end thereof. Each of the rollers 29 isprovided on its one side a flange to assist in isolation from the wirematerial.

The second feeder means 25 further includes a shifting mechanism 30disposed generally at the back of the elevating pedestal 10 and adaptedto shift the rollers 29 between a position of alignment with the line offeed and a retracted position in appropriate timing with the startingand completion of feed of the wire material. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7,the shifting mechanism 30 includes a pivotal shaft 32 supported betweensupport frames 31 secured to the back of the elevating pedestal 10. Aseparate shift cylinder 33 is connected to the elevating pedestal 10,and the cylinder 33 has a rod 34 connected to the pivot shaft 32 througha connecting lever 35. The pivotal shaft 32 has connected theretoupwardly extending shift levers 36 which in turn are connected to therespective rearward end of the rotary shafts 27 through rotation guides37. With this arrangement, therefore, the up and down movement of therod 34 of the cylinder 33 causes all the levers 36 on the pivotal shaft32 to pivot in the longitudinal direction (as viewed in FIG. 7), therebyto shift the rotary shafts 27 and hence the rollers 29 between a guidingposition and an inactive position relative to the wire material.Reference numerals 38 and 38' denote sensors for confirming the shiftingoperation; and reference numeral 39 denotes a dog.

Disposed between the first and the second feeder means 18 and 25 is theposture retaining means 40 which is movable (adjustable for itsposition) in the direction of the line of feed. The posture retainingmeans 40 is utilized to hold and guide the wire material, whilecorrecting the posture of wire, especially the orientation of the rolledhead end W1. As shown in FIGS. 2, 8 and 9, the posture retaining means40 includes a casing 41 disposed in front of the support base 26 of theelevating pedestal 10. A support frame 42 is connected to the supportbase 26 and has a pair of horizontally extending guide bars 43 by whichthe casing 41 is movably carried. In addition, a cylinder 44 isconnected to the support frame 42 and has a rod 45 connected to thecasing 41. By means of this arrangement, the actuation of the cylinder44 causes the casing 41 to move along the direction of the line of feedinto a position commensurate with the length of wire material.

The casing 41 has on its top surface a pair of guide rollers 46. Ahold-down roller 50 is provided above the rollers 46 and is utilized tohold the wire material from lifting. All of these rollers 46 and 50 arearranged in the same direction as the line of feed. The guide rollers 46are connected to a motor 47 mounted on the underside of the casing 41through a bevel gear train 48 and a spur gear train 49, and aresimultaneously rotated in opposite directions. The rollers 46 serve toreceive the wire material between their outer peripheral surfaces whileholding the wire material in alignment with the line of feed, thereby toprevent possible circumferential displacement of the wire material.

The hold-down roller 50 is rotatably carried by a pair of arms 52 whichin turn are pivotally supported by a support shaft 51 located at theupper end of the casing 41. The arms 52 are connected to a shiftcylinder 54 with a rod 55 located generally above the casing 41. Thus,the actuation of the cylinder 54 causes the roller 50 to shift between aguiding position holding the material in vertical alignment with theline of feed and a retracted position outside the line.

The head end regulator means 56 is located on the forward end of theelevating pedestal 10, that is in front of the mandrel M, and isutilized to regulate the posture (orientation) and position of therolled forward portion W1 of the wire material prior to windingoperation. As may be seen in FIGS. 2, 10 and 11, the elevating pedestal10 includes a pivotal shaft 58 horizontally received in a support sleeve57 mounted to the upper forward end of the support base 26. A regulatingtool 60 is mounted to a connecting arm 59 provided at the forward end ofthe pivotal shaft 58. The regulating tool 60 has formed therein aregulating mouth 61 into which the rolled forward portion W1 isengageble. The regulating tool 60 is tilted upwardly by the actuation ofa shift cylinder 62, being shifted between an operative position inwhich the tool 60 is aligned with the line of feed and an inactiveposition in which the tool 60 is retracted upwardly outside the line.The regulating tool 60 is normally set in its operative position inappropriate timing with the feed of wire material, and upon completionof its regulating operation, the tool 60 is instantly returned to itsinactive position. The cylinder 62 is mounted on the backside of thesupport base 26, its rod 63 being connected to an arm 64 provided at therearward end of the pivotal shaft 58. Reference numeral 65 designates asensor for confirming the shifted position of the regulating tool 60which is located opposite to the path of the regulating tool operated bythe arm 64.

The head end bender means 66 serves to previously bend the wire materialin the direction of winding so that the head end of the material mayclosely contact the outer periphery of the mandrel M. To this end, asshown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the head end bender means 66 is mounted on thesame region as the regulating tool 60 of the head end regulator means56. A movable body 71 with suitable bending means is mounted to asupport frame 67 secured to the forward end of the elevating pedestal 10and is reciprocatable in the direction intersecting the line of feed.The support frame 67 includes two guide levers 68 disposed in adirection perpendicular to the line of feed, and an actuating cylinder69 mounted to the backside thereof. The movable body 71 is carried bythe guide levers 68 and connected to a cylinder 69 with a rod 70. Themovable body 71 also includes a pair of bending arms 73 provided betweentwo support plates 72 projecting forwardly therefrom.

The arms 73 are pivotally carried by an upper and a lower support shaft74 mounted on the support plates 72, and are biased by a spring 75normally to their released position. The arms 73 have, at their forwardends, wire clamp halves 76 and, at thier rearward ends, rotors 77 forguiding the opening and closing thereof. The opening and closing meansof the arms 73 includes an actuating cylinder 78 provided on the upperend of the movable plate 71 and having a rod 79 connected to anactuating bar 79A. The forward end of the actuating bar 79A is projectedinto and retracted from the rotors 77, and the arms 73 are opened andclosed by the movement of the actuating bar 79A.

With this arrangement provided in the head end bender means 66, thecylinders 69 and 78 are brought into an inoperative condition before thehead end of the wire material is regulated and upon retracting movementof the movable body 71, the arms 73 are moved into an inactive positionoutside the line of feed as they are in their release position. Afterthe head end of the wire material is regulated, the cylinders 69 and 78cooperate, in timed relationship with the upward retracting movement ofthe regulating tool 60 of the head end regulating means 56, to advancethe movable body 71 and thence the arms, while in the released position,into an operative position aligned with the line of feed. Thereafter,the clamp halves 76 hold and bend the head end of the wire material. Itis to be noted that the clamp halves 76 are replaceable in accordancewith the type of wind, right-hand or left-hand. Reference numerals 80and 80' designate sensors for confirming the shifted position of themovable body 71.

The feed guide means 81 serves to guide the wire material in front ofthe head end regulator means 56. To this end, as shown in FIGS. 14 and15, the guide means 81 includes a stationary block 82 fixedly connectedto the front end of the support base 26. The stationary block 82includes a pair of support plates 83 between which a pair of pivotalshafts 84 are supported. The pivotal shafts 84 are coupled by a geartrain 85, and each pivotal shaft 84 is connected to a support bar 86 towhich a roller 87 is pivotally supported. One of the rotary shafts 84(or alternatively one of the support bars 86) is connected to a rod 89of an air cylinder 88 mounted on the stationary block 82 through an arm90. Thus, upon synchronous pivotal movement of the pivotal shafts 84,the rollers 87 are actuated between a guiding position captivelyreceiving the wire material and an inactive position outside the line offeed. The rollers 87 are of the same configuration as the rollers 24 inthe first feeder means 18.

Extending generally above the second feeder means 25 is the clamp andfeed-out means 91 which serves to positively direct the wire materialwhich has been regulated by the head end regulator means 56 to apredetermined chucking position of the mandrel. To this end, as shown inFIGS. 7 and 16, the clamp and feed-out means 91 includes a carriage 92disposed on the support base 26 and provided with a clamp mechanism 91A.Specifically, the carriage 92 is supported on a rail 93 mounted on thesupport base 26 along the line of feed, and is operatively connected toa rod 95 of an actuating cylinder 94 carried on the support base 26, soas to be reciprocated a predetermined stroke along the direction of theline of feed.

The clamp mechanism 91A is constructed in the same manner as the guidemeans 81. Specifically, a pair of rotary shafts 98 are supported betweensupport plates 96 secured to the front side of the carriage 92; and arecoupled by a gear train 97. Each of the rotary shafts 98 has a supportarm 99 on which is provided a clamp half 100 for clamping the wirematerial. One of the rotary shafts (or alternatively one of the arms 99)is connected to an air cylinder 101 with a rod 102 mounted on thecarriage 92 through a connection arm 103. Thus, upon actuation of theair cylinder 101, the arms 98 are closed and opened between an operativeposition holding the wire material and a released position.

It should be noted that in the clamp and feed-out device 91, the clamphalves 100 of the arms 99 clamp the wire material relatively lightlyunder the influence of a predetermined pressure developed by thecylinder 101. Thus, when the carriage 92 has been advanced through apredetermined stroke and the head end of the wire material retained atthe chucking position of the mandrel M, a moderate slipping action willtake place between the wire material and the clamp halves 100 tovirtually complete the feed-out operation or restrain undue feeding sothat any possible deformation of the wire material may be precluded.

Disposed generally opposite of the first feeder means 25 is the tail endregulator means 104. The task of the means 104 is to regulate theorientation of the remaining unwound portion of the wire material,especially the rolled tail end portion W2, so as to correct possibletwist of the wire material in the circumferential direction during thewinding operation. To this end, as shown in FIGS. 2, 17 and 18, the tailend regulator means 104 includes a carriage 105 disposed on theelevating pedestal 10, and the carriage 105 has a tiltable body 111which in turn has a drive means for a regulating tool 122 which willhereinafter be more fully explained. The carriage 105 is supported on arail 106 mounted on the top surface of the elevating pedestal 10 andalong the line of feed. The carriage 105 is adjustably connected to areciprocating chain 107 which is also mounted on the elevating pedestal10 so as to be reciprocated through a predetermined stroke along theline of feed. The chain 107 engages with one sprocket, the shaft 108 ofwhich is coupled through a gear train 110 to a control motor 109disposed at the back of the elevating pedestal 10 (FIG. 3) and adaptedto function as will hereinafter be described in greater detail.

The tiltable body 111 is supported by a fulcrum shaft 112 provided onthe front underside of the carriage 105 and is tiltable in a directionintersecting the line of feed. The tiltable body 111 includes at theupper end thereof a support sleeve 113 extending parallel to the line offeed toward the mandrel M; and at the lower end thereof a control motor118 which will be described below in greater detail. Additionally, thetiltable body 111 is connected to a cylinder 114 with a rod 115 carriedon the carriage 105 and upon actuation of the cylinder 114, isselectively held between an inoperative position being tilted outsidethe line during the wire feeding and an operative position upstanding inalignment with the line at a predetermined time during the wire winding.Reference numerals 116 and 116' designate sensors for confirming theshifted position of the carriage 105 and adapted, when turned on, tostop the motor 109.

The tiltable body 111 further includes a rotary shaft 117 for aregulating tool. The rotary shaft 117 is horizontally carried in thesleeve 113 and is operatively connected at its rearward end to a controlmotor 118 through a bevel gear train 119, a worm gear train 120 and aspur gear train 121 for rotational movement in either direction (forwardand reverse) at a selected speed. The rotary shaft 117 has a regulatingtool 122 mounted on the forward end thereof. The regulating tool 122 hason its forward end face a regulating mouth 123 to regulate the rolledtail end portion W2 which will be aligned with the line of feed as soonas the tiltable body 111 has been shifted into the operative position.

The rotary shaft 117 and the regulating tool 122 incorporate a sensormeans which is utilized to ascertain as to whether the regulating tool122 has properly positioned and regulated the rolled tail end portionW2. As best seen in FIG. 19, the rotary shaft 117 has a movable sensingbar 124 extending therewithin and normally biased forward against theregulating tool 122. The sensing bar 124 has at its forward end asensing portion 125 disposed at a predetermined position within theregulating mouth 123. The sensing bar 124 also has at its rearward endan operating portion 126 which is spaced in rightward (as viewed in FIG.19) concentric relationship to a sensor 127 mounted on the rearwardupper end of the tiltable body 111 and electrically connected to thecontrol motors 109 and 118. With this arrangement, as soon as theregulating tool 122 has regulated the rolled tail end portion W2 asspecified, the sensing bar 124 will move leftwardly, as viewed in FIG.19, thereby to actuate the sensor 127 and effect controlled drive of themotors 109 and 118.

The tail end regulator means 104 is operated on the basis of rotation ofthe mandrel M and in accordance with the forming conditions of thespring to be wound, for example, such as the length and diameter of thewire material, the angle of wind, and the outside diameter and freeheight of the spring. The setting particulars of the respective drivingcomponents will be described. First, the cylinder 114 is so set as to beactuated at such time T as the mandrel M has wound up a required lengthof the wire material (for example, such time as the mandrel M hascompleted N times of rotation or reached a predetermined totalrotational angle, N×360°, from the reference 0° position chucking thewire material). Thereupon, the tiltable body 111 will be brought intoits operative position. Second, the control motor 109 on the carriage105 is so set as to be started in suitably timed relationship with thecylinder 114 and is variably driven in response to the sensing operationof the sensor 127. Thus, upon forward movement of the overall carriage105 and tiltable body 111, the regulating tool 122 is advanced to tracethe tail end of the wire material being wound. Thereafter, during thetail end regulating operation (during the sensor 127 operation), thecarriage 105 and hence the regulating tool 122 are advanced at a speedequal to or slightly higher speed than the winding speed of the mandrelM.

Further, the motor 118 on the tiltable body 111 is so set as to bestarted in timed relationship with the motor 109 at the time T when themandrel M has wound up a required length of wire material (or when thetotal rotational angle, N×360°, has been reached). By means of thissetting, the regulating tool 122 is advanced as it is rotated atconstant speeds in a predetermined direction to probe the rolled tailend portion W2. Thereafter, the motor 118 will be driven at reducedspeeds as soon as the sensor 127 has sensed the wire tail end beingregulated by the regulating tool 122, or at such time T' as apredetermined total rotational angle (for example, N'×360°) for twistregulation has been reached. The regulating tool 122 will then berotated at slow speeds a sufficient angle to suit the angle γ of twistin the peripheral direction of the wire material, which twist willnecessarily be developed before the remaining portion or unwound lengthl of the wire material has been wound. The degree of "twist" isestimated by a certain target value based on the size and/or the windingconditions of a spring to be formed, along with various experimentaldata. There is little error in regarding the angle of twist γ as beinguniform and varying in linear proportion to the unit length of theremaining portion l of the wire material, and such errors may be deemedas allowable errors (FIG. 43).

Referring now to FIG. 20 in which the wind section C is schematicallyshown and as may be seen, the wind section C includes a swivel base 129forming the section body, drive means 143 and first and second movableholder means 157 and 166 for the mandrel M, and wind guide means 186 andtail end hold-down means 200 for the wire material.

The swivel base 129 serves to move the mandrel M a required wind anglerelative to the wire material W on the line of feed. To this end, asshown in FIGS. 21 and 22, the swivel base 129 includes a subbase 130carried on a fixed base 128 through a fulcrum shaft 131 and wheels 132.The swivel base 129 is operated by a later described swivel means 138which is operatively connected to a coupling point 133 on the fixed base128. The coupling point 133 is located underneath the subbase 130 and issupported by a holder 134, as shown in FIG. 23. The holder 134 includesa coupling shaft 135 which is pivotally and displaceably supportedtherein. The coupling point 133 includes a coupler 136 having a threadedhole 137 and fixedly connected to the coupling shaft 135.

As shown in FIGS. 23 and 24, a swivel means 138 is mounted to the swivelbase 129 and includes a rotary feed shaft 140 operatively connectedthrough a bevel gear train 142 to a control motor 139 mounted on thesubbase 130 of the swivel base 129. The rotary feed shaft 140 has athreaded shaft 141 threadably inserted into the threaded hole 137 of thecoupler 136. Upon forward and reverse drive of the motor 139, therefore,the feed shaft 140 is advanced and retracted for displacement relativeto the coupler 136, and such displacement causes the swivel base 129 topivot about the fulcrum shaft 131. Thus, both before and after thewinding operation, the swivel base 129 is held in a reference position(angle 0) perpendicular to the plane of the line of feed, and during thewinding operation, the swivel base 129 may pivot and shift steplessly(or possibly in a stepped manner) into a predetermined winding position(angle β, γ) within acute angles relative to the reference position. Itis to be noted that the fulcrum shaft 131 to effect the specific pivotalmovement is located at the intersection of the line of feed and thereference position.

The mandrel M is operated through numerical controls for itsreorientation of the winding position by means of pivotal movement ofthe swivel base 129; for its rotational movements commensurate with thetype of springs, right-hand wind or left-hand wind; and for its travelin an axial direction. A selected mandrel M commensurate with the shapeand size of springs to be formed is removably disposed between a firstand a second movable holder means 157 and 166 which will hereinafter bedescribed in greater detail. FIGS. 44(a), 44(b) and 44(c) representvarious types of the mandrel M, conical, semispindle-shaped and handdrum-shaped, which may be used in the apparatus of the presentinvention.

The drive means 143 for the mandrel M has a casing 144 secured to oneend (the left-hand end as viewed in FIG. 20) of the swivel base 129. Acontrol motor 145, a spindle 146 and a driven shaft 148 are providedwithin the casing 144, as shown in FIGS. 25 and 26. The spindle 146 andthe driven shaft 148 are operatively connected to a spline shaft 152,and are variable in two speeds, low and high. The spindle 146 ishorizontally supported on the central portion of the casing 144 in adirection perpendicular to the plane of mandrel M, and is operativelyconnected to a motor 145 mounted on the top of the casing 144 through achain train 147. The driven shaft 148 is operatively supported inparallel relationship with the spindle 146 and at the same time iscoupled to the spindle 146 through a low speed and a high speed geartrain 150 and 151 which are selectively operated by a clutch 149. Thedriven shaft 148 is also coupled to the spline shaft 152 horizontallysupported in the center of the swivel base 129.

The motor 145 is of the reversible type and effective to rotate themandrel M in either direction at a desired speed. Additionally, the highspeed gear train 150 refers to that large gear on the spindle 146 andthat small gear on the driven shaft 148, as shown on the left in FIG.26. Also, the low speed gear train 151 refers to that small gear on thespindle 146 and that large gear on the driven shaft 148, as shown on theright in FIG. 26. To operate the clutch 149, a cylinder 154 is providedoutside the casing 144, having a rod 155 connected to a shift lever 156which in turn is pivotally supported by the casing 144 and coupled tothe clutch 149 through a suitable means. Thus, the upward and downwardmovement of the rod 155 of the cylinder 154 causes the clutch 149 toslide along the driven shaft 148 into engagement with gear trains 150and 151.

The first movable holder means 157 serves to removably hold the baseportion of the mandrel M. To this end, as shown in FIGS. 28 and 29, thefirst movable holder means 157 includes a movable body 158 disposedwithin the swivel base 129, which movable body 158 has a horizontallyextending connecting spindle 163 for the mandrel M. The movable body 158is carried on and dependent from a rail 159 horizontally mounted on theupper portion of the swivel base 129 and receives the spline shaft 152therein. The movable body 158 is reciprocated a predetermined distance(a required amount of travel of the spindle M) through actuation of acylinder 160 mounted below the rail 159. The cylinder 160 has a rod 161connected to the movable body 158 at its rearward end and is controlledfor its operating speed and operating amount through a hydraulic controlmechanism (not shown). Reference numerals 162 and 162' indicate sensorswhich are arranged at the respective ends of travel of the movable body158.

The connecting spindle 163 serves to removably connect the mandrel M forrotational movement therewith. The connecting spindle 163 is removablysupported centrally in the movable body 158 and is aligned with themandrel M on the same line. The connecting spindle 163 is coupled to thespline shaft 152 through a spur gear train 164 for forward and reverserotation. With reference to FIG. 30, the connecting spindle 163 isconnected to the mandrel M in such a manner that with the end facesaligned with each other, the forward end of a threaded connecting bar165 received coaxially within the connecting spindle 163 is threadedlyengaged with a threaded hole formed at the rearward end of the mandrelM.

The second movable holder means 166 serves to separably hold theextremity of the mandrel M. To this end, as shown in FIGS. 31 and 32,the second movable holder means 166 includes a movable body 167 disposedwithin the swivel base 129, which movable body 167 has amandrel-connecting driven shaft 172 which in turn incorporates achucking mechanism 166A therein. The movable body 167 is carried on anddependent from a rail 168 horizontally mounted on the upper portion ofthe swivel base 129. The movable body 167 is threadedly engaged with andsupported by a feed shaft 169 horizontally extending below the rail 168.Upon rotational movement of the feed shaft 169, therefore, the movablebody 167 is reciprocated a predetermined distance in timed relationshipwith the movable body 158 of the first movable holder means 157. Thefeed shaft 169 is coupled to a control motor 170 mounted on the upperrear side of the swivel base 129 through a spur gear train 171, and isrotatable in either the forward or reverse direction on the basis ofcontrolled drive of the motor 170.

The connecting driven shaft 172 is driven with the mandrel M and is ofcylindrical shape. The shaft 172 is inserted into and supported by asupport sleeve 173 secured to the lower portion of the movable body 167,and is aligned with the mandrel M on the same line. The shaft 172 isprovided at its forward end with a recess 174 for receiving a gear, andwith a carrier plate 175 removably secured thereto for receiving achuck. The connection of the shaft 172 with the mandrel M is such thatan engagememt hole 176 formed in the forward end of the shaft 172 isseparably engaged with an engagement shaft 177 provided at the extremityof the mandrel M.

The chuck mechanism 166A carried in the driven shaft 172 includes anoperating bar 179 received in a shaft hole 178 of the driven shaft 172,as shown in FIGS. 31 and 33. The operating bar 179 is connected to acylinder 180 with a rod 181 mounted on the rearward end of the drivenshaft 172. A rack 182 formed on the forward end of the operating bar 179engages a pinion 183 pivotally mounted within the recess 174. A chuck184 removably mounted on the carrier plate 175 is coupled to the pinion183 through a rack 185 and is actuable between its open and closedpositions. The rack 185 is disposed perpendicular to the rack 182 of theoperating bar 179 secured to the chuck 184. The chuck 184 is located onthe same vertical line as the point of pivot (the fulcrum shaft 131)before winding the wire material (before advancing the mandrel M), andis placed in either a predetermined upper peripheral or lower peripheralposition of the mandrel M, depending on the direction of wind, righthand or left hand.

It is to be noted that in the first and second movable holder means 157and 166, both the movable bodies 158 and 167 are variable in speedthrough the controlled actuation of the cylinder 160 and the motor 170.For advancement of the mandrel M, the movable bodies 158 and 167 aremoved forwardly in synchronism with one another; and for retractingmovement of the mandrel M, the movable body 158 is returned suitablyfaster than the movable body 167. By means of this arrangement, themandrel M may be separated from the connecting driven shaft 172 as it ispulled back by the connecting spindle 163.

The wind guide means 186 serves to wind the wire material during thewinding process. As shown in FIGS. 34 and 35, two means 186 are providedand located radially symmetrically above and below the mandrel M inpredetermined positions before the mandrel M or in front of the feedguide means 81 of the feed section F. The two means 186, beingselectively used for either right-hand or left-hand wind, areconstructed the same way. For the purpose of illustration, only onemeans 186 (for right-hand wind shown below in FIG. 35) will bedescribed. The wind guide means 186 includes a holder 188 mountedslantingl on a carrier plate 187 provided centrally in front of theswivel base 129. A support sleeve 190 is inserted in a cylindricalportion 189 of the holder 188 and a roller 191 is replaceably carried bythe bifurcated portion of the support sleeve 190.

For setting a roller 191 at the proper angle and position in view of thediameter of wire material and/or the diameter of wind, the holder 188 istiltably located relative to the carrier plate 187 by means of a fulcrumpin 192 and a regulating fastener 193, as shown in FIGS. 35 and 36. Thesupport sleeve 190 is supported by a threaded shaft 194 carried withinthe holder 188. Thus, the forward and reverse rotations of the threadedshaft 194 causes the support sleeve 190 to move toward and away from themandrel M through a sliding piece 195 along a guide way 196 formed inthe holder 188. The threaded shaft 194 is threadedly received in athreaded hole 197 of the support sleeve 190 and is rotatably connectedthrough a bevel gear train 199 to a control motor 198 mounted on thelower end of the holder 188. It is to be noted that in the wind guidemeans 186 thus constructed, the roller 191 receives the upper surface ofthe wire material, while in the other means 186 shown above in FIG. 35,the roller 191 receives the lower surface of the wire material. Ineither means 186, the respective roller 191 is positioned for itsspecific guiding operation commensurate with the configuration andoutside diameter of the wire material. Additionally, the roller 191 isheld in a fixed position with respect to a straight circular mandrel;and is progressively displaced with respect to a conical and/or asemispindle-shaped mandrel.

The tail end hold-down means 200 serves to closely press the tail end ofthe wire material against the outer periphery of the mandrel M. As shownin FIGS. 34, 35 and 37, the means 200 is located at the back of themandrel M and in alignment with the line of feed. Specifically, themeans 200 includes a first L-shaped lever 204 pivotally supported by asupport shaft 201 mounted on the upper portion of the swivel base 129and connected to a cylinder 202 with a rod 203 also mounted on the upperportion of the swivel base 129; a second L-shaped lever 207 pivotallysupported by a support shaft 205 located centrally in the swivel base129 and connected to the first L-shaped lever 204 through a connectingbar 206; and a roller 208 connected to the other end of the lever 207and aligned with the line of feed. Thus, upon actuation of the cylinder202, the rod is moved to cause the roller 208, through levers 204 and207 and the connecting bar 206, to move in the diametral direction ofthe mandrel M between a material unclamping position and a pressingposition.

For controlling the displacement of the roller 208, in accordance withthe parameters such as the diameter of the wire material and the outsidediameter of the spring to be formed, the connection of the firstL-shaped lever 204 with the connecting bar 206 is such that a threadedshaft 211 formed at the other end of the connecting bar 206 isthreadably received in a threaded hole 210 formed in a rotationregulator 209 mounted on the other end of the first lever 204. Therotation regulator 209 is rotated by a handle 210 to cause theconnecting bar 206 to vary the point of connection with the first lever204, that is the distance of connection between the levers 204 and 207.Thereafter, upon tilting movement of the second lever 207, the roller208 is held in place in the diametral direction of the mandrel M. Thetail end hold-down means 200 is normally actuated upon completion of thewinding operation; however, it may be actuated immediately after thestarting of or during the course of the winding operation.

The wind section C further includes a guide means 213 for the mandrel M,and a retaining tool 222 and a transfer device 223 for the final spring.The guide means 213 serves to guide the mandrel and, as shown in FIGS.38 and 39, includes a support casing 214 which is provided centrallywithin the swivel base 129 and a support body 215 which is receivedwithin the support casing 214 for vertical movement and is adjustable bymeans of threaded adjusting shaft 216. A roller 218 for bearing thelower periphery of the mandrel M is carried on a support shaft 217received in the bifurcated portion formed on the top end of the supportbody 215. The threaded shaft 216 is vertically supported in the supportcasing 214 and threadably received in a threaded hole 219 formed in thesupport body 215. The threaded shaft is forward and reverse rotated byan operating shaft 220 through a gear train 221. With this arrangement,therefore, the support body 215 and the roller 218 are controlled toadjust their respective vertical positions. The roller 218 is of handdrum-shaped configuration commensurate with the outer periphery ofmandrels of various sizes and shapes, and is replaceable by removing thesupport shaft 217.

The retaining tool 222 is utilized to retain and remove the formedspring during returning movement of the mandrel M and is provided at therearward side of the tail end hold-down means 200, as shown in FIG. 35.The retaining tool 222 may be replaceably mounted on a suitable shiftmember such as a cylinder and shifted between a spring-retainingposition and an inoperative position. The transfer device 223 serves toclamp and transfer the spring removed from the mandrel M outwardly ofthe apparatus. To this end, the transfer device 223 moves a pair ofclamps 224 disposed in the midway of travel of the mandrel M rearwardly(rightwardly as viewed in FIG. 1) from the wind section C in a directionperpendicular to the plane of mandrel M.

The present method permits a series of automatic operations ranging fromfeeding to winding of wire material on the basis of one cycle-oneforming operations of the apparatus which incorporates the cooperatingarrangement of the feed section F and the wind section C. The presentmethod will now be described with reference to the spring S shown inFIG. 41 which has seats at its opposite ends, and in the order in whichthe respective means perform the respective operations.

In the feed section F, the elevating pedestal 10 of the frame 1 isactuated longitudinally and vertically relative to the fixed plate 2 bythe motor 4 and the cylinder 13 into a predetermined position andinclined height. Thus, all the subassemblies of the feed section F areset in their respective predetermined positions to provide apredetermined elevated line of feed or material advancement toward themandrel M in the wind section C.

With this condition existing, the first and the second feeder means 18and 25 and the posture-retaining means 40 are synchronously actuated.Specifically, in the first feeder means 18, the wire material W takenout from the heating furnace H by the operator is received on rollers 24to be constantly fed in a substantially horizontal plane. (During thecourse of feeding, however, the wire material is roughly adjusted by theoperator for the orientation of its rolled formed end W1.) Thereafter,the posture-retaining means 40 holds the wire material between the guideroller 46 and the hold-down roller 50 so that it will not swing, andfeeds the material forwardly while correcting the peripheral direction,especially the orientaion of the rolled forward end W1. The secondfeeder means 25 feeds the wire material forwardly toward the head-endregulator means 56 as it holds the material between the rollers 29 (FIG.1(a)).

As this occurs, the cylinder 62 in the head end regulator means 56 isactuated to set the regulating tool 60 in its regulating position on theline of feed. After regulating the orientation and position of therolled forward end W1 by the regulating mouth 61, the cylinder 62 isdeactuated to move the regulating tool 60 outwardly upwardly to itsinactive position in readiness for the next operation. Upon completionof the regulating operation, the head end bender means 66 will beoperated. The cooperating action of the actuating cylinders 69 and 78 ofthe head end bender means 66 causes the arms 73 to set in the formingposition to bend the head end of the wire material in a selecteddirection through the clamp halves 76. Thereafter, the arms 73 arequickly returned to the inoperative position in readiness for the nextoperation.

Subsequent to the completion of the wire regulating operation, theguiding operation of the feed guide means 81 and the directing operationof the clamp and feed-out means 91 are initiated. Specifically, therollers 87 of the support bar 86 are moved into a guiding position toguide the wire material as they hold the material therebetween. Therollers 87 will then be retracted to their inoperative position inappropriate timing. Thereafter, in the clamp and feed-out means 91, theactuation of the cylinder 101 of the clamp mechanism 91A causes the arms99 to be closed to clamp the material between their clamp halves 100.Then, the actuation of the cylinder 94 causes the carriage 92 to moveinto a predetermined position along the rail 93 of the elevatingpedestal 10, directing the material into the predetermined chuckingposition on the mandrel M in the wind section C (FIG. 1(b)).

It is to be noted that after the clamp and feed-out means 91 holds thewire material and before it directs the material into the chuckingposition, all the rollers 87 are retracted outwardly of the line of feedthrough deactuation of the cylinder 88, and prior to the subsequent feedof material, the second feeder means 25 is brought into the feedingposition. In addition, the clamp and feed-out means 91 completes itsdirecting operation at the time when the carriage 92 has reached the endof its advancement. As soon as the winding operation of the mandrel M isinitiated, the cylinders 94 and 101 are deactuated to thereby releasethe arms 99 to be returned to the end of their retraction along with thecarriage 92 in readiness for the next operation. The operation of thetail end regulator means 104 will hereinafter be explained.

Subsequent to the series of operations performed in the feed section F,the head end of the wire material is chucked at a predetermined positionof the mandrel M in the wind section C. The mandrel M will then beoperated to wind the material by the aid of respective operations of theswivel means 138, the drive means 143, and the first and the secondmovable holder means 157 and 166. Specifically, in the chuck means 166Aof the second movable holder means 166, the chuck 184 is placed in thepredetermined position adjacent the lower periphery of the mandrel M inconformance to the selected direction of wind. Then, the cylinder 180 isactuated to close the chuck 184 through the operating bar 179, the rack182, the pinion 183 and the rack 185 to thereby firmly secure the headend of the wire material M (FIG. 1(b)).

Thereafter, the means 138, 143, 157 and 166 are operated as set.Specifically, in the swivel means 138, the forward rotation of the motor139 causes the rotary shaft 140 to threadedly advance toward the coupler136 of the coupling point 133, and thence the swivel base 129 to pivotabout the fulcrum shaft 131 into the desired winding position. In thedrive means 143, the chuck 149 is shifted to set either the high-speedgear train 150 or the low-speed gear train 151 in place. Then, as soonas the motor 145 is driven, the spindle 146, the driven shaft 148 andthe spline shaft 152 are rotated to thereby cause the connecting spindle163 of the first movable holder means 157 to rotate through the spurgear train 164. In the first and the second movable holder means 157 and166, the actuation of the cylinder 160 in synchronism with the forwardrotation of the motor 170 causes the respective movable bodies 158 and167 to move forwardly along the rails 159 and 168 at the identicalspeeds. Thereupon, the mandrel M will be controlled to perform itswinding operation commensurate with the forming condition of thesprings.

At this point, the control of the mandrel M will be described briefly.As shown in FIG. 41, the angle of wind (α) and the pitch (P) at theeffective wind portion of a spring S are different from those (β, P') atthe seats s' and s" at the opposite ends of the spring S. Therefore, asschematically shown in FIG. 42, with the mandrel M rotating at a fixedspeed, the angle of wind (orientation) and the speed of advancement ofthe mandrel M are gradually controlled and varied at the beginning andthe end of the wind commensurate with the respective seats s' and s". Onthe other hand, in the winding process corresponding to the effectivewind portion, both the angle of wind and the speed of advancement of themandrel M are set to be maintained constant. Therefore, the mandrel M isoperated by the respective means 138, 143, 157 and 166 in accordancewith the above noted conditions so as to serially wind the wire materialM to form the seat s' at the head end, the effective wind portion S andthe seat s" at the tail end in sequence. It is to be noted that in thewinding process, the wire material W is guided by the roller 191 of thewind guide means 186 during the travel of the guide means 213.

In the winding process, at the time T when the mandrel M has completedthe winding of the predetermined length of a wire material W1 themandrel M will be operated at slow speeds in accordance with thereduction in speed of drive of the drive means 143 and the first and thesecond movable holder means 157 and 166. As this occurs, the tail endregulator means 104 in the feeder section F will be operated. Morespecifically, in the tail end regulator means 104, with the clamp andfeed-out means 91 returned to its starting position, the tiltable body111 is held in its upstanding operative position through the actuationof the cylinder 114. The motor 118 is driven to rotate the rotary shaft117 through gear trains 119, 120 and 121. Then, the forward rotation ofthe motor 109 causes the carriage 105 to move forwardly, being pulled bythe reciprocating chain 107, along the rail 106 of the elevatingpedestal 10. Thereafter, the regulating tool 122 on the extreme end ofthe rotary shaft 117, being aligned with the line of feed, is rotatedand advanced in synchronism with the transit of the wire material W. Asthe regulating tool 122 traces the tail end of the material, theregulating mouth 123 engages the rolled tail end W2 for the purpose ofregulating the orientation.

During the reorientation of the tail end W2, the sensor 127 will beactivated to cause the motors 109 and 118 to drive. Specifically, themotor 118 is slowly driven for angle γ corresponding to the "twist"produced until the remaining length l of the material has been wound. Onthe other hand, the motor 109 is driven at the speed commensurate withthe speed of wind (the peripheral speed) of the mandrel M. As theseoccurs, the regulating tool 122 is slowly started in proportion to theproper twist angle γ, holding the rolled tail end W2 of the material, soas to push out the material in conformance to the speed of wind of themandrel M (FIG. 43).

Simultaneously with the tail end regulating operation, the mandrel M inthe wind section C is controlled so as to be disposed in its normaloperating condition. Specifically, the drive means 143 and the first andthe second movable holder means 157 and 166 are driven at the speedcommensurate with the forming condition of the spring S, in synchronismwith the time T when the regulating tool 122 has started its regulatingoperation (or when the total rotational angle, N×360°, has beenreached). As this occurs, the mandrel M is rotated and moved at thepredetermined speed to wind the remaining length l of the wire material.When one winding has been completed, the mandrel M is slowly rotated andmoved while directing the center of the winding to its original positionby the controlled drive of the swivel means 138, the drive means 143 andthe first and the second movable holder means 157 and 166. After thetail end seat s" has been wound, the mandrel M is returned to thereference position and then stopped at the end of its advancement tocomplete the required wire winding operation (FIG. 1(d)).

Subsequent to the wire winding operation, the sensor 127 in the tail endregulator means 104 will be turned off as soon as the wire materialmoves away from the regulating tool 122. Upon reversal and stopping ofthe motor 109, the carriage 105 will be retained at the end of itsretraction. Upon deactuation of the cylinder 114 the tiltable body 111will be held in its tilted position, and upon stopping of the motor 118,the rotary shaft 117 will be stopped. As this occurs, the regulatingtool 122 is returned to its retracted, inactive position in readinessfor the next operation. On the other hand, at the time when the windingoperation has been completed, the operation of the tail end hold-downmeans 200 is initiated. Specifically, in the tail end hold-down means200, the actuation of the cylinder 202 causes the hold-down roller 208to be set in its operative position through the first and second levers204 and 207. Then, the hold-down roller 208 suitably holds and guidesthe end portion of the wire material to closely contact the wirematerial with the outer periphery of the mandrel M. Thereafter, upondeactuation of the cylinder 202 in timed relationship with thecompletion of the winding operation, the hold-down roller 208 isreturned to its released position in readiness for the next operation.

After completion of the above-mentioned winding operation, the overallwind section C is returned to its original position. Specifically, inthe drive means, the reverse rotation of the motor 145 causes the splineshaft 152 and the spindle 163 of the first movable holder means 157 torotate in the reverse direction; in the first movable holder means 157the actuation of the cylinder 160 causes the movable body 158 to beswiftly retracted to its original position along the rail 159 and thespline shaft 152; and in the second movable holder means 166, the slowreverse drive of the motor 170 causes the movable body 167 to be slowlyretracted along the feed shaft 169 and the rail 168. Thereafter, due tothe difference in the retracting speed existing between the first andthe second movable holder means 157 and 166, the mandrel M is removedfrom the driven shaft 172 in the second means 166, being held by theconnecting spindle 163 of the first means 157, and is returned to itsoriginal position as it is guidingly held by the roller 118 of the guidemeans 213, with the chucking position returning to its originalposition. It is to be noted that the drive means 143 may be reversedriven for a desired time after retraction of the mandrel M.

In the retraction process of the mandrel M, the formed spring S isremoved from the mandrel M by the retaining tool 222 and then clamped bythe transfer device 223 to be transferred to an external apparatus suchas a transfer conveyor. Next, in the second movable holder means 166,the movable body 167 is returned to its original position in timedrelationship with the transfer device 223. Again, the connecting drivenshaft 172 is coupled to the mandrel M in readiness for the next wirewinding operation, along with the first movable holder means 157 (FIG.1(e)).

Thereafter, in the same manner as previously desired, the cyclicoperation of the respective means in feed section F and the wind sectionC permits the wire material to be fed and regulated as it is alignedwith the selected line of feed at all times; and the mandrel M to bepivotted into a predetermined winding position as it is rotated andmoved so as to form a spring S.

It will now be understood that according to the present invention,various types of springs may be formed, as schematically shown in FIGS.44(a)-44(c), by using different mandrels of selected configuration forreplacement between the first and second movable holder means 157 and166. For instance, conical springs S1 shown in FIG. 44(a) may be formedby using a conical mandrel M1 which is controlled for its windingposition and rate of rotational speed and travel, as discussed above.Barrel-shaped springs S2 shown in FIG. 44(b) may be formed by using asemispindle-shaped mandrel M2. Specifically, during the first half partof the winding operation, the mandrel M2 is advanced while it iscontrolled for its winding position and rate of rotational speed andtravel; and during the latter half part where the wire material is halfwound, the mandrel M2 is returned while it is controlled for its windingposition and rate of rotational speed and travel. Further, handdrum-shaped springs S3 shown in FIG. 44(c) may be formed by using a pairof conical mandrels M3 which are connected respectively to the first andthe second movable holder means 157 and 166, with the respective forwardends removably connected and aligned with each other. Additionally, itshould be noted that springs having open ends may be formedsubstantially the same way as discussed above, with a right cylindricalmandrel placed at a fixed angular disposition for winding and controlledfor its rate of rotational speed and travel.

Also, a spring with a small angle of wind may be formed, by varying thewinding position and rate of rotational speed and travel based on thecontrolled drive of the swivel means 138, the drive means 143 and thefirst and the second movable holder means 157 and 166. In addition, theangle of wind and the pitch of such springs may be corrected and evensprings having unequal pitches may be formed. All of the above mentionedsprings may be formed with either right-hand and left-hand wind bychanging the height of the elevating pedestal 10 to suit the line offeed and by changing the direction of wind of the mandrel M.

From what has been said, the particular function and effect of therespective means of the present apparatus may be apparent as follows.The head end bender means 66 bends the head end of the wire materialregulated by the head end regulator means 56 in the direction of wind sothat the head end may closely contact the outer periphery of the mandrelM, thereby enabling the mandrel M to positively chuck the wire materialand perform a proper winding operation. The clamp and feed-out means 91clamps the wire material regulated and bent at its head end and feeds itinto the chucking position of the mandrel M, so that any possibledeflection of the material relative to the line of feed and/or swings inthe peripheral direction may positively be prevented. Thus, the wirematerial may be formed to an accurate orientation and angle, especiallyat the seat portion of the head end. The tail end regulator means 104with the regulating tool 122 regulates the tail end of the wire materialat a predetermined time during the winding process so as to control theorientation of the tail end to an angle commensurate with the angle oftwist of the wire material which will necessarily be developed beforethe remaining unwound length of the wire material is wound. Thus,undesired twist may be avoided and the wire material formed to anaccurate orientation and angle, especially at the seat portion of thetail end. As a result, high quality springs with stable outer diameterand pitch may be formed, and the formed spring finished accurately byminimizing allowance for machining of seats at its opposite ends.

In wind section C, as represented in FIGS. 21, 23 and 24, the swivelmeans 138 includes the motor 139 mounted thereto and the rotary shaft140 coupled to the motor 139 and threadedly received in the coupler 136at the coupling point 133 of the fixed base 128. Therefore, the overallmeans 138 can be made very compact, eliminating the need for extrainstallation space therefor around the swivel base 129. Further, thedrive means 143, being of the variable speed type, enables the mandrel Mto operate at the required low or high speeds commensurate with the sizeof the springs to be formed. In the first and the second movable holdermeans 157 and 166, the second movable holder 166 is so designed as to beretracted slower than the first movable holder means 157. Thus, in theretracting movement of both the first and second means 157 and 166, themandrel may be automatically removed from the second means 166, therebypermitting removal of a formed spring therefrom. Thus, the first and thesecond means 157 and 166 and the mandrel M need not be stopped for thisparticular operation, and manufacturing time may be reduced as much.

In wind guide means 186, for either right-hand or left-hand wind, theroller 191 aligned on the line of feed, being set at the predeterminedposition relative to the mandrel M, presses and guides the wire materialinto the orientation closely contacting the outer periphery of themandrel M. Thus, the roller 191 can guide and hold the wire material ina rectilinear manner at all times, thereby avoiding floating (bend inthe direction of wind) during the winding operation. By means of thisarrangement, the mandrel M may closely wind the wire material at alltimes to form springs which are free from errors in outside diameter.Further, the guide position of the roller 191 is adjustable relative tothe outside diameter and the shape of the mandrel M. Therefore, evenwith conical or hand drum-shaped springs having continously varyingoutside diameter, the wire material may be properly guided.Specifically, the rotational movement of the threaded shaft 194 throughthe controlled drive of the motor 198 causes the support sleeve 190 andthe roller 191 within the holder 188 to move in the diametral directionof the mandrel M. Thus, the distance between the roller 191 and themandrel is invariable so that the guiding position may be adjustedprogressively in a stepless manner to permit positive guiding operationof the wire material. In particular, the line of feed and the guidingposition and distance to the mandrel M may be accurately adjusted at apredetermined time, since the roller 191 is adjustable for displacementon an inclined line along the diametral direction of the mandrel M.

While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated anddescribed, it will be understood by those skilled in the art thatchanges and modifications may be resorted to without departing from thespirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of making a coil spring wherein a wirematerial taken from a heating furnace is fed on a line of feed andformed into a spring by use of a mandrel adapted to rotate on the basisof chucking position to wind the wire material, the mandrel beingcontrolled to pivot into a predetermined angular winding positionrelative to the line of feed and to move in the axial direction thereof,comprising the steps of:feeding the wire material at a selected speedcontinually in alignment with the line of feed; regulating theorientation and position of the head end of the wire material in theforward part of the line of feed; directing the wire material regulatedon its head end to a chucking position established on the outerperiphery of the mandrel and aligned with the line of feed; controllingthe mandrel to pivot about a fulcrum aligned with the chucking positionand to shift between a reference position perpendicular to the plane ofthe line of feed and a winding position forming an acute angle relativeto the reference position; moving the mandrel toward and away from thepredetermined winding position while removably holding the material; andregulating the tail end of the wire material at a predetermined timeduring winding process so as to control the orientation of the tail endto an angle commensurate with the angle of twist of the wire materialwhich will necessarily be developed before the remaining unwound lengthof the wire material is wound.
 2. A method as defined in claim 1 whereinsaid feeding step comprises the steps of:feeding the wire materialforward in the first part of the line of feed at a selected speed;retaining the wire material which is being fed forward, while correctingthe posture of the wire material and the orientation of the head end;and feeding in the latter part of the line of feed the wire materialforward to the mandrel in cooperation with said feeding step in thefirst part of the line of feed.
 3. A method as defined in claim 1wherein said head end regulating step comprises the steps of:providing aregulating tool formed with a regulating mouth into which the head endof the wire material is operatively engageable; setting said regulatingtool in an operative position aligned with the line of feed in timedrelationship with the feed of wire material; regulating the orientationand position of the wire material by use of said regulating tool; andreturning said regulating tool to its original inoperative positionoutside the line of feed.
 4. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein saiddirecting step comprises the steps of:providing a clamp mechanism havinga pair of support arms adapted to operate between a closed positionholding the wire material and an open position releasing the wirematerial; actuating said support arms between said closed position andsaid open position; and reciprocating said clamp mechanism apredetermined stroke in a direction along the line of feed.
 5. A methodas defined in claim 1 wherein said winding position controlling stepcomprises the steps of:providing a swivel base including the mandrel forwinding the wire material, the fulcrum of said swivel base beingpositioned vertically below the intersection of an extension line fromthe line of feed and the reference position perpendicular to the planeof the extension line; and controlling said swivel base with the mandrelto pivot about the fulcrum between the reference position and thewinding position forming an acute angle relative to the referenceposition.
 6. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein said mandrel movingstep comprises the steps of:providing first movable holder means withinsaid swivel base, said first movable holder means being adapted to beconnected to the base portion of the mandrel and to move a predeterminedstroke along the axial direction of the mandrel, said first movableholder means including a connecting spindle adapted to removably holdthe base portion of the mandrel and to be operatively connected to asuitable source of drive for rotation in a desired direction; providingsecond movable holder means also within said swivel base, said secondmovable holder means being adapted to be connected to the fore end ofthe mandrel and to move a predetermined stroke along the axial directionof the mandrel, said second movable holder means including a connectingdriven shaft aligned with said connecting spindle and adapted toremovably hold the fore end of the mandrel, said connecting driven shaftbeing rotatable bodily with the mandrel; moving both, said first andsecond movable holder means in synchronism with each other; andreturning said second movable holder means suitably slower than saidfirst movable holder means.
 7. A method as defined in claim 1 whereinsaid tail end regulating step comprises the steps of:providing aregulating tool formed at its fore end with a regulating mouth intowhich the tail end of the wire material is releasably received, saidregulating tool being movable a predetermined stroke and shiftablebetween an inactive retracted position outside the line of feed and anoperative position aligned with the line of feed; moving said regulatingtool suitably faster than the advancement of the wire material so as totrack the tail end of the wire material; rotating said regulating toolin a predetermined direction so as to receive and regulate the tail endof the wire material in said regulating mouth; moving the regulatingtool forwardly at substantially the same speeds as the wire material;and rotating the regulating tool during the advancement so as to controlthe orientation of the tail end to an angle commensurate with the angleof twist of the wire material which will necessarily be developed beforethe remaining unwound length of the wire material is wound.
 8. Anapparatus for making a coil spring including a feed section adapted tohold and feed a wire material taken from an associated heating furnacein alignment with a line of feed; and a cooperating wind sectiondisposed transversely to the plane of said feed section and including amandrel mounted thereon for winding the wire material, said mandrelbeing adapted for pivotal movement into a predetermined angular windingposition relative to the line of feed and for rotational movement aboutand reciprocating movement along the axis thereof, comprising:a frameforming a body of said feed section; a fixed base mounted to said frameand supported in a generally horizontal plane relative to a floorsurface; a sliding base slidably supported on said fixed base forlongitudinal movement along the line of feed; an elevating pedestalmounted to said sliding base and adapted to be lifted obliquely relativeto said sliding base; a support base mounted to the upper forward end ofsaid elevating pedestal; feeder means mounted to said elevating pedestaland adapted to feed the wire material at a selected speed continually inalignment with the line of feed; head end regulating means mounted tosaid support base and disposed generally in the forward part of the lineof feed for regulating the orientation and position of the head end ofthe wire material; clamp and feed-out means mounted to said support baseand adapted to direct the wire material regulated on its head end to achucking position established on the outer periphery of said mandrel andaligned with the line of feed; a fixed base adapted to mount said windsection thereon and supported in a generally horizontal plane relativeto a floor surface; a swivel base forming a body of said wind sectionand adapted to pivot about a predetermined fulcrum between a referenceposition perpendicular to the plane of the line of feed and a windingposition forming an acute angle relative to the reference position;swivel means mounted to said swivel base for controlling the pivotalmovement of said swivel base; drive means mounted to said swivel basefor controlling said mandrel to rotate on the basis of the chuckingposition; movable holder means mounted to said swivel base for movingsaid mandrel toward and away from a predetermined winding position whileremovably holding said mandrel; and tail end regulator means mounted tosaid elevating pedestal and adapted to regulate the tail end of the wirematerial at a predetermined time during winding process so as to controlthe orientation of the tail end to an angle commensurate with the angleof twist of the wire material which will necessarily be developed beforethe remaining unwound length of the wire material is wound.
 9. Anapparatus as defined in claim 8 wherein said elevating pedestalcomprises a fulcrum shaft carried in the rearward end thereof and acylinder mounted to the forward end thereof, whereby said elevatingpedestal is pivotally supported on said fulcrum shaft in a cantileverfashion relative to said sliding base and is obliquely shifted inresponse to actuation of said cylinder between a high and a low positioncommensurate with lines of feed for right-hand and left-hand winds ofwire material.
 10. An apparatus as defined in claim 8 wherein saidfeeder means comprises:first feeder means for feeding the wire materialforwardly at a selected speed; posture retaining means for guiding thewire material, while correcting the posture of the wire material and theorientation of the head end; and second feeder means for feeding thewire material forwardly to said mandrel on said wind section incooperation with said first feeder means; said first feeder means, saidposture retaining means and said second feeder means being arranged inthe order in which the material is advanced on the line of feed.
 11. Anapparatus as defined in claim 10 wherein said first feeder meanscomprises a plurality of rotary shafts arranged in said elevatingpedestal in sequence along the direction of material advancement, saidrotary shafts extending through said elevating pedestal in a directionperpendicular to the line of feed and being operatively connected to amotor mounted to said elevating pedestal through a chain train forsynchronous rotation relative to each other, each of said rotary shaftshaving at its fore end a roller secured thereto and aligned with theline of feed.
 12. An apparatus as defined in claim 10 wherein saidsecond feeder means comprises:a plurality of rotary shafts axiallymovably arranged in said support base in sequence along the direction ofmaterial advancement and having rollers at their fore ends,respectively, said rotary shafts extending through said support base andbeing operatively connected to a motor mounted to said elevatingpedestal through a chain train for synchronous rotation relative to eachother; and a shifting mechanism disposed at the backside of saidelevating pedestal and operatively connected to said rotary shafts,respectively; whereby said rollers on said rotary shafts are adapted toshift between a position aligned with the line of feed and a retractedposition.
 13. An apparatus as defined in claim 12 wherein said shiftingmechanism comprises:a pivotal shaft horizontally supported betweensupport frames secured to the backside of said elevating pedestal; acylinder with a rod mounted to said elevating pedestal; and a pluralityof shift levers connected at one end to said pivotal shaft and at theother end to the rearward ends of said rollers, respectively, throughrotation guides.
 14. An apparatus as defined in claim 10 wherein saidposture retaining means comprises:a casing movably mounted to saidsupport base and operatively connected to a cylinder with a rod securedto said support base for movement along the direction of the line offeed into a position commensurate with the length of wire material; apair of guide rollers for guiding the wire material in alignment withthe line of feed, said guide rollers being rotatably support in saidcasing and operatively connected to a motor mounted to said casingthrough a gear train for synchronous rotation in opposite direction; apair of arms pivotally connected to the upper end of said casing; acylinder with a rod operatively connected to the upper ends of saidarmes; and a hold-down roller carried by said arms and adapted to shiftin response to actuation of said cylinder between a guiding positionholding the wire material in vertical alignment with the line of feedand a retracted position outside the line.
 15. An apparatus as definedin claim 8 wherein said head end regulator means comprises:a pivotalshaft horizontally supported in the upper forward end of said supportbase in a direction perpendicular to the line of feed; a regulating toolconnected to one end of said pivotal shaft and including a regulatingmouth into which the head end of the wire material is operativelyengageable; and a cylinder with a rod connected to the other end of saidpivotal shaft; whereby said regulating tool is tilted in response toactuation of said cylinder so as to shift between an operative positionin which said tool is aligned with the line of feed and an inactiveposition in which said tool is retracted upwardly outside the line. 16.An apparatus as defined in claim 8 wherein said clamp and feed-out meanscomprises:a carriage mounted on said support base and operativelyconnected to a cylinder with a rod secured to said support base, saidcarriage being movable a predetermined stroke in the direction of theline of feed in response to actuation of said cylinder; a clampmechanism disposed in said carriage and including a pair of clamp armsmounted to the front face of said carriage said arms being adapted to besynchronously closed and opened relative to each other; and a cylinderwith a rod mounted to said carriage and operatively connected to one ofsaid arms; whereby said arms are closed and opened in response toactuation of said cylinder between an operative position holding thewire material and a released position.
 17. An apparatus as defined inclaim 8 wherein said swivel base is pivotally mounted to said fixed basethrough a fulcrum shaft and a plurality of wheels arranged on theunderside of said swivel base, said fulcrum shaft being located at theintersection of the line of feed and the reference position.
 18. Anapparatus as defined in claim 8 wherein said swivel means comprises:aholder secured to said fixed base at a location spaced apart from saidfulcrum of said swivel base; a coupling shaft pivotally received in saidholder; a coupler secured to said coupling shaft and having a threadedhole formed therein and extending horizontally therethrough; and athreaded shaft extending crosswise within said swivel base andthreadably received in said threaded hole of said coupler, said threadedshaft being operatively connected to a reversible control motor mountedto said swivel base through a gear train; whereby said threaded shaft isadvanced and retracted for displacement relative to said coupler inresponse to forward and reverse drive of said motor.
 19. An apparatus asdefined in claim 8 wherein said drive means comprises:a casing securedto one end of said swivel base; a reversible control motor mountedwithin said casing; a spindle mounted centrally within and extendinghorizontally through said casing in a direction perpendicular to theplane of said mandrel, said spindle being operatively connected to saidmotor through a chain train; and a driven shaft mounted within saidcasing in parallel relationship with said spindle and operativelyconnected to said spindle through a transmission gear train, said drivenshaft being operatively connected to a horizontally extending splineshaft for rotating said mandrel disposed centrally within said swivelbase.
 20. An apparatus as defined in claim 8 wherein said movable holdermeans comprises:(a) first movable holder means for removably holding thebase portion of said mandrel, including:a first movable body carried onand dependent from a rail horizontally mounted to the upper portion ofsaid swivel base, said first movable body being operatively connected toa cylinder with a rod located below said rail, whereby said firstmovable body is reciprocated a predetermined interval commensurate witha required amount of travel of said mandrel in response to actuation ofsaid cylinder; a spline shaft horizontally supported in said firstmovable body and operatively connected to said drive means; and aconnecting spindle supported centrally in said first movable body andoperatively connected to said spline shaft through a gear train forforward and reverse rotation, said connecting spindle having therewithina connecting bar for removably holding the base portion of said mandrel;and (b) second movable holder means for separably holding the fore endof said mandrel, including:a second movable body carried on anddependent from said rail and threadedly supported on a feed shafthorizontally mounted to said swivel base below said rail, said secondmovable body being adapted to reciprocate, in response to rotationalmovement of said feed shaft, a predetermined interval in timedrelationship with said first movable body; and a connecting driven shafthorizontally supported in the lower portion of said second movable bodyand aligned with said connecting spindle of said first movable body,said connecting driven shaft being provided with connector means forseparably connecting and holding the fore end of said mandrel and achucking mechanism for the wire material.
 21. An apparatus as defined inclaim 20 wherein said feed shaft is operatively connected to areversible control motor mounted to the upper backside of said swivelbase through a gear train and adapted to be rotated in either forward orreverse direction in response to controlled drive of said motor.
 22. Anapparatus as defined in claim 20 wherein said chucking mechanismcomprise:an operating bar received in a threaded hole of said connectingdriven shaft; a cylinder with a rod located rearwardly of said drivenshaft, said rod being connected to the rearward end of said operatingbar; a first rack formed on the forward end of said operating bar; apinion pivotally mounted within said driven shaft, said pinion beingengageable with said first rack; and a second rack mounted within theforward end of said driven shaft and adapted to move in the diametraldirection of said driven shaft, said second rack being engageable withsaid pinion and adapted to securely hold thereon a chuck for the wirematerial located outwardly of the forward end of said mandrel; wherebysaid operating bar is axially reciprocated in response to actuation ofsaid cylinder to thereby displace said chuck in the radial direction ofsaid mandrel.
 23. An apparatus as defined in claim 22 wherein said chuckis adapted to hold the head end of the wire material and to be set inits released position before operation, and wherein the center of saidchuck is located on the same vertical line as the fulcrum of said swivelbase.
 24. An apparatus as defined in claim 20 wherein said first movablebody and said second movable body are adapted to move at variablespeeds, said first movable body and said second movable body being movedforward synchronously with each other when said mandrel is advanced, andsaid first movable body being returned suitably faster than said secondmovable body when said mandrel is retracted.
 25. An apparatus as definedin claim 20 wherein said mandrel is horizontally held at its oppositeends between said connecting spindle and said connecting driven shaft inaxial alignment with each other, and wherein said mandrel is replaceablewith another mandrel of different size.
 26. An apparatus as defined inclaim 8 wherein said tail end regulator means comprises:a carriagesupported on a rail horizontally mounted on said elevating pedestal,said carriage being operatively connected to a chain reciprocated by afirst reversible control motor mounted to the backside of said elevatingpedestal; a tiltable body pivotally mounted to the front side of saidcarriage through a fulcrum shaft and operatively connected to a cylinderwith a rod mounted to said carriage, said tiltable body being adapted toshift in response to actuation of said cylinder between an inoperativeposition tilted outside the line of feed while the wire material is fedand an operative position upstanding in alignment with the line of feedat a predetermined time while the wire material is wound; a drivemechanism disposed on said tiltable body and including a rotary shafthorizontally mounted within said tiltable body and extending through asupport sleeve secured to the forward end of said tiltable body, saidrotary shaft being operatively connected to a second reversible controlmotor mounted to the lower portion of said tiltable body through a geartrain for rotation in either forward and reverse direction; a regulatingtool mounted to the fore end of said rotary shaft and including at thefore end thereof a regulating mouth in which the tail end of the wirematerial is releasably received; and sensing means for confirming thetail end of the wire material being received in said mouth of saidregulating tool and properly regulated for its position, said sensingmeans including:a movable bar disposed movably within said rotary shaft,said movable bar having a sensing portion at its forward end and anoperating portion at its reaward end, said movable bar being normallybiased forwardly against the regulating tool to thereby set the sensingportion in a predetermined position in said mouth contacting the tailend of the wire material; a sensor mounted to the upper rearward end ofsaid tiltable body, said sensor being located opposite to said operatingportion of said movable bar as it is normally in its off condition;whereby, when said movable bar is retracted, said sensor is pushed bysaid operating portion and turned on to thereby start said first controlmotor and second control motor.
 27. An apparatus as defined in claim 26wherein said cylinder is so set as to be actuated at such time as saidmandrel has wound up a required length of the wire material, thereby tobring said tiltable body into the operative position.
 28. An apparatusas defined in claim 26 wherein said first control motor is so set as tobe started in suitably timed relationship with actuation of saidcylinder and driven to actuate said chain in response to the sensingoperation of said sensor, whereby upon forward movement of said carriageand said tiltable body, said regulating tool is advaned to track thetail end of the wire material being wound, and during the tail endregulating operation in response to the sensing operation of saidsensor, said carriage and said regulating tool are advanced at an equalspeed to or a slightly higher speed than the winding speed of saidmandrel.
 29. An apparatus as defined in claim 26 wherein said secondcontrol motor is so set as to be rotated in timed relationship with thedrive of said first control motor at such time as said mandrel has woundup a required length of wire material, whereby said regulating tool isadvanced as it is rotated at constant speeds in a predetermineddirection to prove the tail end of the wire material, and said secondcontrol motor is driven at reduced speeds when said sensor has sensedthe tail end being regulated by said regulating tool or at such time asa predetermined total rotational angle for twist regulation has beenreached, to thereby rotate said regulating tool at slow speeds asufficient angle commensurate with the angle of twist of the wirematerial which will necessarily be developed before the remainingunwound length of the wire material is wound.
 30. An apparatus formaking a coil spring of either right-hand or left-hand wind including afeed section adapted to hold and feed a wire material taken from anassociated heating furnace in alignment with a line of feed for eitherright-hand or left-hand wind; and a cooperating wind section disposedtransversely to the plane of said feed section and including a mandrelmounted thereon for winding the wire material, said mandrel beingadapted for pivotal movement into a predetermined angular windingposition relative to the line of feed and for rotational movement aboutand reciprocating movement along the axis thereof, comprising:a frameforming a body of said feed section; a fixed base mounted to said frameand supported in a generally horizontal plane relative to a floorsurface; a sliding base slidably supported on said fixed base forlongitudinal movement along the line of feed; an elevating pedestalmounted to said sliding base and adapted to be lifted obliquely relativeto said sliding base; a support base mounted to the upper forward end ofsaid elevating pedestal; first and second feeder means mounted to saidelevating pedestal and adapted to feed the wire material at a selectedspeed and continually in alignment with the line of feed; head endregulating means mounted to said support base and disposed generally inthe forward part of the line of feed for regulating the orientation andposition of the head end of the wire material; head end bender meansmounted to said elevating pedestal and disposed generally in the forwardpart of the line of feed for bending the regulated head end of the wirematerial in the direction of winding; clamp and feed-out means mountedto said support base and adapted to direct the wire material regulatedand bent on its head end to a chucking position established on the outerperiphery of said mandrel and aligned with the line of feed; a fixedbase adapted to mount said wind section thereon and supported in agenerally horizontal plane relative to a floor surface; a swivel baseforming a body of said wind section and adapted to pivot about apredetermined fulcrum between a reference position perpendicular to theplane of the line of feed and a winding position forming an acute anglerelative to the reference position; swivel means mounted to said swivelbase for controlling the pivotal movement of said swivel base; drivemeans mounted to said swivel base for controlling said mandrel to rotateon the basis of the chucking position; first and second movable holdermeans mounted to said swivel base for moving said mandrel toward andaway from a predetermined winding position while removably holding saidmandrel; winding guide means mounted to said swivel base in alignmentwith the line of feed for either right-hand or left-hand wind andadapted to guide the wire material in a predetermined guiding positionapart from said mandrel; tail end regulator means mounted to saidelevating pedestal and adapted to regulate the tail end of the wirematerial at a predetermined time during winding process so as to controlthe orientation of the tail end to an angle commensurate with the angleof twist of the wire material which will necessarily be developed beforethe remaining unwound length of the wire material is wound; and tail endhold-down means mounted to said swivel base and adapted to closely pressthe tail end of the wire material against the outer periphery of saidmandrel when a winding operation is being completed.
 31. An apparatus asdefined in claim 30 wherein said head end bender means comprises:asupport frame mounted to the forward end of said elevating pedestal andincluding a pair of parallel guide rollers supported therein; a firstactuating cylinder with a rod mounted to the backside of said supportframe and adapted to reciprocate in a direction intersecting the line offeed; a movable body supported on said guide rollers and operativelyconnected to said rod of said first actuating cylinder; a secondactuating cylinder with a rod mounted to the upper rearward end of saidmovable body; an actuating bar movably mounted within said movable bodyabove said rollers and operatively connected to said rod of said secondactuating cylinder; and a pair of bending arms pivotally connected tothe forward end of said movable body and adapted to be closed and openedin response to actuation of said actuating bar.
 32. An apparatus asdefined in claim 31 wherein, when said movable body is retracted inresponse to actuation of said first actuating cylinder, said bendingarms are moved into an inactive position outside the line of feed asthey are in their open position, and as soon as the head end of the wirematerial is regulated by said head end regulator means, said bendingarms in the open position are advanced into an operative positionaligned with the line of feed and closed in response to actuation ofsaid second actuating cylinder, to thereby hold the head end of the wirematerial.
 33. An apparatus as defined in claim 31 wherein each of saidbending arms includes at its forward end a clamp half for bending thehead end of the wire material, said clamp half being replaceable inaccordance with either right-hand or left-hand wind of wire material.34. An apparatus as defined in claim 30 wherein said wind guide meansare two in number for either right-hand or left-hand wind and mounted tothe upper portion and the lower portion of said swivel base,respectively, in front of said mandrel, each of said wind guide meanscomprises:a carrier plate mounted centrally to the front of said swivelbase, said carrier plate being adjustable for its angular disposition inthe same direction as the peripheral direction of said mandrel, a holdercarried on said carrier plate with a predetermined inclination towardthe center of said mandrel; a support sleeve movably received in andextending through said holder; and a roller connected to the upper endof said support sleeve and adapted to press and guide the wire material;whereby said roller is adapted to move toward and away from saidmandrel, to thereby adjust the guiding position relative to the wirematerial.
 35. An apparatus as defined in claim 30 wherein said tail endhold-down means comprises:a support lever pivotally suppoted to saidswivel base adjacent the back periphery of said mandrel; a cylinder witha rod mounted to the upper portion of said swivel base and operativelyconnected to one end of said support lever; and a roller adapted forpressing the wire material and connected to the other end of saidsupport lever in alignment with an extension line from the line of feed;whereby said support lever is tilted in response to actuation of saidcylinder, to thereby shift said roller in the diametral direction ofsaid mandrel between a first position unclamping the wire material and asecond position pressing the wire material.